Armed with a degree in radio electronics, in the 1990s was the first in Moscow to open stores with bar code readers. Diversified company later traded food and electronics, imported bananas, managed banks and an airline; group eventually collapsed. Now focuses on the gambling business and is opening slots parlors and casinos in Russia, the Baltics, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Romania, Macedonia, the U.S. and Latin America. Injured in a mysterious accident in Monte Carlo 10 years ago, appears frequently at Moscow parties in a wheelchair. Heads the Russian Committee for the Development of the Paralympics Movement.